Commentary: Build baseball stadium on Route 195 land/ Poll

Tuesday

Feb 25, 2014 at 8:30 AM

Make the centerpiece of downtown redevelopment a new stadium modeled after Fenway Park!

By Richard Benck

Can’t figure out what to do with all that reclaimed Route 195 relocation land? Here’s an idea that makes a lot of sense, would have the support of Rhode Islanders and could be a sparkplug for completing the transformation of Providence.

I am the biggest Red Sox fan in the world (I scored every game in 1967). Rhode Island is full of Red Sox fans. We have an incredible underused asset called the Pawtucket Red Sox. They are in a terrible location, in a mediocre stadium, yet they are one of the most successful minor league teams in the country.

Here’s an idea: turn the PawSox into the ProSox! Make the centerpiece of downtown redevelopment a new stadium modeled after Fenway Park!

I’m a finance guy, so I can pretty confidently predict a 50 percent attendance increase if this happened. (What does that do to the value of your team, PawSox shareholders?) I haven’t been to a PawSox game in over 20 years (however, I have religiously gone to Fenway two to three times per year), but I would go to 5 to 10 games each year if I could see the AAA Red Sox in a replica Fenway Park in downtown Providence. (And wouldn’t it be nice to visit one of those great Providence restaurants after the game?)

I’m sure that working out the economics of building a minor league stadium with a very reliable revenue stream would be a piece of cake. (I presume McCoy Stadium is due for an expensive facelift in the near future, which could be avoided.)

I understand that the commission is trying to justify a parking garage for the Garrahy Judicial Complex on part of this property but is having problems justifying the cost, given revenue projections. What could be more synergistic than creating additional demand and revenue for this space with evening and weekend ProSox games and other activities at the stadium?

I also understand that the commission is interested in increasing the presence of college investment in the city. Here’s an idea: How about Johnson & Wales increasing the prestige and breadth of their hospitality program by offering a major in stadium management? What a great program that would be!

The ProSox will come up with some good ideas how to maximize the value of the stadium. (Maybe a summer concert series when the ProSox are on the road, or a couple of outdoor Providence Bruin games in the winter.) What a great attraction this would be to get people into the city on the weekends and evenings!

Speaking of Johnson & Wales, there certainly would be great opportunities for the culinary program to manage the food services at the stadium, including a restaurant that should be part of the stadium project.

Now that we have this great centerpiece for this property, we certainly would need a hotel nearby. Do you think we would have any problem getting some developer interested? Actually, doesn’t Johnson & Wales also have a program in hotel management? Even better, maybe a hotel could be an integral part of the stadium construction. Wouldn’t that be great?

Wouldn’t any young professional working in Providence want to live in an apartment near this part of Providence (I know I would, even though I’m not so young anymore)? Again, I ask: Do you think you would have any problem getting multiple offers from developers to build housing once this project gets off the ground? Also, all those new Johnson and Wales students will need housing. And how about all those future Red Sox stars? What great PR for the city and state!

Won’t we need more restaurants and stores to service all those people who want to live in and visit this area? Won’t businesses see this as an attractive place for their offices? Wouldn’t the project help open up the waterfront to the public? Wouldn’t that make Providence an incredible city in high demand? It might even get somebody motivated to save the Superman building without making the taxpayers pay for it — and I do have a warm spot for that building, as it was my first place of employment.

Once you get some excitement and buzz, everyone will want to jump on board. As a Rhode Islander for more than 60 years, I would be excited to see this happen.

By the way, you just might create a couple of jobs and raise tax revenue in the process (rather than dole out tax credits and incentives to get the developers interested).

Richard Benck (dicklou@hotmail.com) of Narragansett is vice president of investment and risk managment for Unimin Corp., in New Canaan, Conn.

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